Folding bedstead



No. 7,014. PATENTED JAN. 15, 1850.

J. BINDER. PORTABLE IRON BBDSTEAD.

TH: NDRRIS PETERS cm, WASHINGTON, o. c.

JOHN BINDER, OF CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS.

FOLDING BEDSTEAD.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 7,014, dated January 15, 1850.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN BINDER, of Chelsea, in the county of Suifolkand State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Portable Iron Bedsteads, and that the followingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,hereinafter referred to, forms a full and exact specification of thesame, wherein I have set forth the nature and principles of my saidimprovements by which my invention may be distinguished from others of asimilar class, together with such parts as I claim and desire to havesecured to me by Letters Patent.

The figures of the accompanying plate of drawings represent myimprovement.

Figure 1 is a plan of my improved portable iron bedstead, Fig. 2 is alongitudinal vertical section taken in the plane of the line A, B Fig.1, and Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the bedstead folded up fortransportation.

The iron bedstead which I have improved is principally used in hospitalsand camp service, and is arranged so as to be folded up in a compactform in order that it may be conveniently moved from place to place, thehead and foot frames folding over on the main horizontal supportingframe, which latter frame is jointed at the center so as to be doubledup and present the appearance as a whole which is represented inelevation in Fig. 3. As the bedsteads have heretofore been constructed,this center joint of the horizontal supporting frame has beennecessarily and invariably supported by a leg which greatly enhances theinconvenience of folding up the apparatus.

My improvement supersedes the necessity of this leg and at the same timemakes the joint as stiif as is required when the bedstead is spread outfor use.

The bedstead is made mostly in the usual way with two long stringers orside bars a b, a b and a. series of stretchers or cross bars 0, c, 0, 0framed between them and fastened at each end in any proper way. The headframe d d cl and foot frame 6 e e are connected to the opposite ends ofthe side bars a b, a b by the projections f f &c., so

that each of said frames turns on the pins 9 g g g, as shown in Fig. 1.The long rods h, when inserted in holes formed in said side bars and theprojections f f, keep the head and foot frames in their proper verticalposition when the bedstead is set out for use.

The side bars a b are divided at the center so as to form two parts a bwhich are connected to each other on the outside by the short connectingbar 2' '6 through which and the adjacent ends of the parts a b of theside bars at proper points, two pins or rivets 7c, in are passed. Thesepins or rivets also pass through similar connecting bars Z Z on theinside of said side bars a b (one of said bars Z l being left off inorder to exemplify my improvements more clearly) and the outerconnecting bar 1; '11 and inner one I Z are connected by a third rivetm, Figs. 1, 2, 3. In the bedsteads now in use these two rivets 7a 7a andm are in the same horizontal range, which made it necessary to cut theadjacent edges of the parts a b of the side bars a b, away, therebyleaving but little bearing surface for said edges when they cometogether and rendering it necessary to support the joint by a legattached to the center rivet, m. By my improvement this center rivet mis placed considerably below the range of the other two rivets k iswhich gives considerable bearing surface for the edges of the parts a I)of the side bar and said edges below the point where they bear againsteach other are curved so as to rest upon said rivet as shown by dottedlines in Fig. 2. This arrangement it is believed will make the jointsufficiently rigid. But in order to strengthen it and entirelysupersedes the use of a leg, I form the inside connecting bars Z Z withtwo wings or lateral projections which when the bedstead is open,operate as shoulders and rest on the two cross bars 0 a, c 0 of the bedstead adjacent to each other on each side of the joint and thisarrangement makes said joint altogether inflexible.

Having thus described my improvements I shall state my claims asfollows.

What I claim as my invention and desire to have secured to me by LettersPatent is,-

Arranging said center joint with the centop of the two cross bars of thebedstead adter rivet below the other two in combinajacent to the jointin the side bars of the 10 timhwith the cfurving of the adjacent edgessame, all as hereinabove set forth. 0 rt e parts 0 the side ars, so asto rest 5 upon said center rivet as described, and also JOHN BINDER theforming of the inner connecting bar Witnesses: with lateral projectionsor shoulders which EZRA LINCOLN, Jr., when the bedstead is openshallrest on the WM. BLAKE,

